Kudos : Together We Did It! by Sheela Murthy
Posted Jul 27, 2007
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We at the Murthy Law Firm have been receiving messages of thanks from many of our clients and others for keeping them well informed and for any part we played in the recent concessions from the U.S. Department of State (DOS) and the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) with regard to honoring the July Visa Bulletin and again accepting employment-based I-485 (Adjustment of Status) filings. We appreciate the kind words and compliments of so many of you for our involvement in the recent decision of July 17, 2007. I want to assure you that, although we each contributed, without the direct involvement and threats of Congresswoman Zoë Lofgren, and the collective efforts of the pro-immigrant community, this effort could not have successfully concluded in the reversal of their position - and certainly not so quickly!
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For those who are not familiar with the American legal system or process, who may be under the impression that one particular person or event led to the government's reversal, I assure you that many players were involved in making the impossible possible. Following are some of the major players, whom I believe helped make this a reality.
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First, Congresswoman's Zoë Lofgren's letters to Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Chertoff, first dated July 3, 2007 followed by a very strong letter, closely resembling a subpoena of documents, on July 11, 2007. The July 11, 2007 letter demanded an extensive list of documents, including all eMails or other communication related to every aspect of the July Visa Bulletin fiasco. Had the USCIS's actions been allowed to stand, tens of thousands of legal foreign national employees and their families would have been denied the opportunity to file the last stage of the papers for their "green cards" in July 2007.
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While Congresswoman's Lofgren's July 3, 2007 letter to the USCIS and DOS did not receive a timely response, it was clear that the second letter could not be ignored. The clear direction of that letter and the result of a failure to respond would likely have been devastating and potentially led to senior DOS, DHS, and USCIS officials having to face Congressional investigation for their actions relating to the July Visa Bulletin.
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Also making a great impact were the concerted efforts of the pro-immigrant community, including the ongoing discussions and negotiations of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) with senior level officials at DOS and USCIS and the American Immigration Law Foundation's (AILF's) preparation of a class action lawsuit against the DOS and the USCIS. AILF genuinely believed that they had proper grounds to win this lawsuit. They had completed drafting the complaint to file the case, as per their website. The government appears to have believed that if they litigated against a convincing case brought by a strong group of advocates supported by a national organization and lost, it would be viewed as millions of dollars of taxpayers' money wasted in needless litigation caused by the government's lack of transparency in their legal process and systems. Those interested may review AILF's Complaint Statement, as well as their Complaint.
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Other pro-immigrant advocates, individuals and groups, also organized peaceful protests by sending flowers and signing petitions protesting the impropriety of the USCIS's actions and insisting upon a reversal. There was major print media coverage of these events, including the delivery of the many flower bouquets to USCIS Director Emilio Gonzalez on or around July 10, 2007. There was a petition from Immigrants' List, on which many worked together to obtain over 10,000 signatures within a couple of days. This was delivered to Mr. Chertoff on July 16, 2007. Thank you to each of you who signed the petition and forwarded it to your families and employers to obtain those signatures in record time. Public outrage was admittedly significant in the USCIS decision to reverse its earlier decision, as noted in the USCIS Announcement of July 17, 2007. For my part, I sent my own letter to DHS Secretary Chertoff, outlining the legal issues and the problems of highly-skilled, legal individuals and families and expressing the sentiments of many in the pro-immigrant sector. Emphasized was the fact that these are highly-skilled, educated professionals, who played by the rules and whose work is in demand by U.S. employers, and that the actions of the government were leading to a breakdown of trust in the integrity and transparency of the American government and in our country, which is the beacon of hope for the world.
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Thank you all for your involvement and commitment in fighting and demanding that the government not play games with people's lives and with the laws and regulations that are in place. Legal immigrants are often too afraid to draw attention to themselves, repeatedly tolerating deplorable government actions. While patience is a necessary part of working through the U.S. immigration system, let us use this as a learning opportunity. If we believe and work toward making a difference, and focus our efforts on a joint goal when needed, then we will make a difference. The power of belief will and can change the world. We stood firm for what we believed and said, "Enough!" and together we achieved the impossible and the U.S. government reversed itself and admitted to being wrong. Kudos! Together we did it!